Part of our daily reading for the Health Challenge

You can create health in your life, and that health can be lastingly vibrant if you approach the process open-minded and prepared. The reality of most resolutions failing is rooted in the power of habits. Joining a gym and starting a diet are easy. Keeping up with them is hard. This is why: your body is programmed to run automatic routines. Creating health means reprogramming those routines to favor health over disease, but a bad day or a strong temptation can derail the best of intentions. Creating Optimal Health in your life is really about organizing your life around the key areas (physical, mental and financial health), empowering you to create well-being and making sure that your daily choices support those long-term objectives!

This was part of our daily reading for our meltdown challenge today. I hope that it inspires you as it did me. Forming new habits are hard but with someone (ME your health coach!!) holding you accountable and encouraging you along the way it can be easier! Contact me today if you want to know more about our program!

skidzwifecreations1@yahoo.com

#healthyforlife #healthcoach #gethealthy #doitnow

To work out or not work out?

A very common question that I have received since becoming a health coach is about my work out schedule. I decided to post for a week my activities. I try to hit at least 10,000 steps or around 5 miles a day in. I add other things in as well but definitely do not have a set schedule as of right now. 

Keep in mind that the key to losing weight and burning fat is focusing on WHAT and HOW you eat.

80% watching what you eat 20% physical activity. 

This was my Total today. I did a 2 mile trail run with the kids and Maverick plus daily activities. 

Another reason why I became a health coach

One of the biggest things that I miss about nursing is helping my patients. I love the chance to help one person at a time get healthy. It doesn't matter if it is weight loss, stress relief,  better sleep or all of the above. #healthcoachingrocks

What do you like to do to stay healthy?

I don't know about your drive to work out, but mine is pretty low. I generally like sports that are going to be fun for me as well as good for my health. I am very thankful to have found a kickball team to participate on. Now before you laugh, it is a real sport and it is very challenging....broken ankles, wrists, feet, etc challenging! I have come to rely on my seasons of this sport for my stress and comedic relief.

What's your favorite sport?

Holiday Eating/weight loss

A very merry belated Christmas!!

I hope that this post finds you well and that you haven't overindulged in too much Christmas treats. I had planned on posting a ton of tips to help you make better choices for your health and weight.

They would have went something like this

1. Go to parties with a somewhat full stomach

2. Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water. BEFORE, DURING, and After.

3. It's ok to say no thank-you and choose a healthier alternative.

Just to name a few.....I will post a few more before New Years.

Now how did I do for our Christmas? Let me tell you, I LOST a ton of weight!! Before you congratulate me though, let me tell you I don't recommend the stomach virus that I had to do it! I most definitely would love a do-over on this Christmas but thankful to be on the other side of BLAH bug!

Not a morning person? Yeah I'm not either!!

Tips for Waking Up Early from a Deep Sleep

1. Lay out the clothes you plan to exercise in the night before and set your socks and shoes in front of your bed.
2. If it’s comfortable, go to sleep in your sports bra and running shorts. That way, half the work is already done when your alarm goes off.
3. Whether you’re using a phone or alarm clock, put it far away enough so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
4. Set a bottle of water close to your alarm clock, preferably with some lemon juice in it. Also, keep some no-bake energy bites nearby. You’ll need those first thing.
5. When your alarm goes off, DO NOT HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON! and dont go back to sleep.  I really can’t stress this one enough. Just don’t do it. Set the alarm for the latest time possible, so you trick your brain into thinking you’re in a hurry, rather than thinking, “I can sleep for 10 more minutes.” That 10 minutes won’t make you less tired. It will, however, turn into 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, then no workout for you. Trust me on this one.
6. While you’re up, grab that bottle of water you set aside the night before and drink a good amount. The lemon juice will kick start your metabolism and help your body wake up faster. Then eat an energy ball or two. Chewing will let your digestive system know it’s time to start working, and the protein-packed bites will fuel your workout.
7. Before you even think of heading back to sleep, put on your sneakers and the rest of your workout gear. Put in your headphones and start listening to some music. Now you’re ready to go before your brain has figured out what just happened.

 Pin it here:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/173810866846851858/
View the whole post here: http://www.youmefit.com/waking-up-early/

Teach your children early

10 Things I Want My Daughter to Know About Working Out

Mid-way through a recent group exercise class, the teacher lost me.  She didn’t lose me because of some complicated step sequence or insanely long set of burpees; I mentally checked out because of a few words she kept saying over and over.  “Come on!  Get that body ready for your winter beach vacation!  Think about how you want to look at those holiday parties!  PICTURE HOW YOU’LL LOOK IN THAT DRESS!”

“THAT DRESS?”  My brain couldn’t focus on an image of some random dress hanging in my closet.  All I could think about was my three-year-old daughter hearing and trying to process those words.

My daughter’s little brain is making sense of the world every single second, taking in verbal and non-verbal cues about how things work and what things mean.  And when it comes to exercise, I want her to grow up seeing it as a joy, and not a utility…as a gift, and not a chore…as an opportunity, not an obligation.  I want her to do it for the love of it, not to fit into a dress.  I want her to grow up knowing that…

1. Strength equals self-sufficiency.  Being strong – particularly as a woman – is empowering.  It will feel good someday to be able to carry your own luggage down the stairs if the airport escalator is broken, and it will be important to have a solid shot at outrunning a stranger should you meet one a dark alley.
2. Fitness opens doors.  Being healthy and fit can help you see the world differently.  The planet looks different from a bike or a pair of skis than it does from a car or an airplane.  Out in the elements you have the time and space to notice details and meet people and remember smells and bugs and mud and rain and the feeling of warm sunshine on your face.  And those are the moments that make up your life.
3. The bike is the new golf course.  Being fit may help you get a seat at the table.  Networking is no longer restricted to the golf course, and the stronger you are – and the more people you can hang with on the road and trail – the more people you’ll meet.
4. Exercise is a lifestyle, not an event.  Being an active person isn’t about taking a class three times a week at the gym.  It’s about things like biking to the grocery store and parking your car in the back of the lot and walking instead of taking a cab and catching up with friends on a hiking trail instead of a bar stool.
5. Health begets health.  Healthy behavior inspires healthy behavior.  Exercise.  Healthy eating.  Solid sleep.  Positive relationships.  These things are all related.
6. Endorphins help you cope.  A good sweat session can clear the slate.  You will have days when nothing seems to go right…when you’re dizzy with frustration or crying in despair.  A workout can often turn things around.
7. Working out signals hard-working.  The discipline required to work out on a regular basis signals success.  Someone recently told me they are way more likely to hire marathon runners and mountain climbers because of the level of commitment that goes into those pursuits.
8. If you feel beautiful, you look beautiful.  Looking beautiful starts on the inside.  And being fit and strong feels beautiful.
9. Nature rules.  And if you’re able to hike/run/bike/swim/ski/snowshoe, you can see more of it.
10. Little eyes are always watching.  We learn from each other.  You may have a daughter—or a niece or a neighbor or a friend – one day.  And that little girl will be watching and listening to everything she you say and do.  What messages do you want her to hear?

I’ll never talk to my daughter about fitting into THAT DRESS.  But I will talk to her about what it sounds like to hear pine needles crunching under my feet and what it feels like to cross a finish line and how special it is to see the world on foot.  I will talk to her about hard work and self sufficiency.  I will teach her the joy of working out by showing her I love it.  And I’ll leave the rest up to her.

Originally posted at http://wellfesto.com/2013/11/19/10-things-i-want-my-daughter-to-know-about-working-out/